The need for lightweight, economical and recyclable pallets is well known. Lightweight pallets of corrugated cardboard are known with one type being disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,325 and another disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,074. These references disclose corrugated cardboard pallets having intersecting stringers and runners forming a platform with the stringers and runners separately constructed of multi-layered panels which are relatively expensive to produce. United Kingdom Patent No. 955,035 discloses a pallet having a paperboard load carrying platform and corner supports comprising cylindrical cores attached to the platform by strips engaging the cores and passing through slots in the corner of the platform which are secured to the top surface of the platform. A drawback to this type of pallet and other related prior art pallets is that the support members separately attached to the central platform are prone to being knocked off by e.g. the forks of a fork lift truck or all the weight of the pallet bearing down on one of the supports during movement of the pallet. Another drawback with pallets formed of different materials is that the pallets have to be disassembled and sorted prior to being recycled which increases the costs of recycling.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a pallet fabricated of a light, foldable material having a central load carrying platform and support members attached thereto of one piece or unitary construction to give an economical, lightweight and readily recyclable pallet.